A decades-old staple of University of Wisconsin sporting events, the glossy game program, is no more.

Starting with the upcoming football season, the UW Athletic Department will no longer print full-color, magazine-style programs and sell them at Camp Randall Stadium.

The same goes for the programs made available at the UW Field House for volleyball and the Kohl Center for men's and women's basketball and men's hockey.

Filling the void will be a digital publication UW fans will be able to access using their laptops, tablets or smartphones via an app titled "Varsity."

Brian Lucas, the UW director of athletic communications, said the new app will be available for sale through the Apple Store starting Wednesday. Lucas He said the app it would be available for Android users as well.

Content will be free for all home games -- home and away for football -- and for the most part will be accessible for download days before the game or match is played.

For the Badgers football fans who still want something printed out, flip cards with rosters and statistics for the two teams will be available on game day for $2.

According to Lucas, the change was driven by a variety of factors starting with preference.

A year ago, an average of 2,000 programs, which cost $7, were sold for football games at 80,321-seat Camp Randall, while the online issue of "Varsity" had 11,000 page views.

Lucas said the sales figures for the programs -- distributed in conjunction with the National W Club -- simply didn't match the time commitment from his staff and the production costs.

"Varsity" was introduced in the fall of 2010. It includes feature stories on UW student-athletes and coaches from all sports -- most written by former Capital Times columnist Mike Lucas, who has handled color commentary for Badgers football and men's basketball for 20 years. The digital magazine also publishes topical columns from athletic director Barry Alvarez and Matt LePay, the play-by-play radio voice of UW football and men's basketball.

Having digital game programs for 2014-15 gives UW fans another reason to take advantage of the new $6.2 million Wi-Fi network and IPTV system that will debut at Camp Randall this season.

The system, put together in collaboration with AT&T, is designed to give fans enhanced access to the Internet no matter where they're located in the stadium.

"It's a natural progression," said Kevin Kluender, the director for marketing for the UW Athletic Department. "We think it's kind of the way to go."

Other major schools -- Alabama, Notre Dame and Kansas, to name three -- as well as NFL teams such as the Buffalo Bills have gone digital with their programs.

Brian Lucas said the move was endorsed recently by members of the UW Fan Advisory Committee.